Isaac Wallace Baker
photographed this unidentified Chinese man, presumably as Baker traveled through the
mining camps of California in his wagon-studio. This portrait, in which the man proudly
displays his queue (long braid of hair), is one of the earliest known of an Asian in
California.

Coinciding with droughts,
floods, and violent political rebellions in mainland China, the Gold Rush and
corresponding economic boom in California drew many Chinese (mostly men) across the
Pacific Ocean. The crossing was exceptionally unpleasant, lasting 62 days on average, with
miserable conditions that modern scholars have compared to African slave ships. By the end
of 1851, there were an estimated 4,000 Chinese nationals in California; by the end of
1852, just one year later, there were approximately 25,000. Before 1860, only 8% of the
Chinese population stayed in San Francisco, while the vast majority sought their fortunes
in the gold fields.

The early Chinese miners faced
increasing discrimination and hostility from their white counterparts. Initially, when the
number of Chinese miners was relatively small, they attracted little attention, and were
mostly seen as picturesque and amusing. As their numbers grew, their presence excited
increased violence, hostility, and envy. Before 1852, there was not much specific
anti-Chinese activity, but when Governor John Bigler declared in an 1852 speech that the
Chinese were a menace to the state, anti-Chinese activity accelerated. Chinese miners, for
example, were especially hard hit by the ever-increasing miner's taxes that were levied
cruelly and unevenly on miners.

The Chinese in San Francisco faced a
different set of circumstances than their counterparts in the mines, and they adapted to
meet the economic opportunities available to them. San Francisco circa 1850 had an
overwhelmingly male population, and consequently laundry and other household tasks
presented often insurmountable challenges to the otherwise-occupied men. The Chinese in
San Francisco, many of whom had been forced from the mines, started laundries in great
number; these required a low capital investment, little space, and allowed the Chinese to
avoid working for or competing with whites for jobs. Chinese restaurants also flourished,
though in less numbers than the laundries due to their greater initial expense. The
Chinese also engaged heavily in the fishing industry, but even there they could not escape
the increasingly harsh taxes and fines that were levied against them. The Chinese also
worked as farmers, domestic helpers, and in trade industries making boots, candles,
cigars, and other products.